


Our Last Goodbye

by lpmc94



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 11:56:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3173140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lpmc94/pseuds/lpmc94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The final goodbye between Ella Trevalyan and Cullen Rutherford.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Last Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this image as well as some of dialogue within the artwork, by Lethallan-Lavellan:  
> http://lethallan-lavellan.tumblr.com/post/108014406869/the-inquisitor-unexpectedly-dies-in-battle-cole

   The dawn arose beautifully, illuminating the sky with it’s golden radiance. Cullen woke to the light peeking through his window, his amber eyes set ablaze by it. He instinctively stretched out his arm across the bed, keenly feeling the absence of his beloved. The man’s mind turned a bit darker with thoughts of her, before suddenly brightening. She would return to him today. He could afford to wait a little longer. Steeling himself for the outside world, the commander rose from his bed and crossed the room to get dressed. He had work to do.  
____________________

    It was midday when he heard the screaming. He had just left his office to see the door opposite him to slam wide open, startling him. Pained moans drew his gaze towards the shaking form of Cole, the boy for once paler than he had ever been. Worrying him even further was the fact that Cole’s form was almost blinking in and out of existence from the extremity of the pain. 

     _“It hurts,”_ he cried, the strain lacing his voice. _“Maker it hurts!”_

    Tears ran rampant down Cole’s deep brown eyes and in that moment, Cullen understood that something was wrong. Very wrong.

    “Cole,” Cullen began, only to be interrupted by the spirit’s hands falling onto his shoulders.

   _“A hot knife to the abdomen, a sword in the back, twisting tearing, oh the pain! Red spills upon my hands, sticky, running, rampant. The glow from Dorian’s hands sadly fades as the man roars in anguished frustration. I can hear Sera’s frantic cursing while Cassandra’s hands try to hold my head still. It all begins to fade, as if I fall silently under the water."_

    Cullen could nothing but watch in anguished agony while Cole related to him the end of his lover. Tears unabashedly had begun to fall from the Commander’s eyes too as he could feel his heart breaking.    

 _"The coin weighs heavy in my pocket. Someone must return it to him. Lucky, he said. He said it was lucky. And he was right. How blessed am I to have known one such as he, to love and be loved by him. Maker, I’ll never hold him again, never see the lights of his eyes again. Maker, I’m begging you. Please, don’t make me leave him alone again. I look to the sky and for but a moment…I see him in the sun. Crying, cowering, defeated, tears like a river on his face. I reach for him, one last time._ "

    For a moment of frozen time, Cullen looked at Cole’s brown eyes and could _see_ her. Brown hair like autumn leaves crowned her head, beautiful blue eyes strained, filled with pain. And still she reached for him. Cullen found himself frantically shaking Cole, roaring for Ella to hang on just a little longer. But through his brief vision, all he could see was her breathe one last quiet sigh, her tears mixing with the blood. The fires of life left those vibrant blue eyes, leaving them empty and entirely desolate.

    Both Cole and Cullen came crashing down to their knees, the spirit’s connection to Ella now severed. Cole could do nothing but hold Cullen tight, knowing that he could never numb this pain, savage, severe, and utterly immutable. Silent tears rolled down the spirit’s face even harder as Cullen roared and screamed his pain, doing his best anchor the man in the storm of grief. For what felt like hours Cole held him tight, never once letting him be alone. The spirit listened to the man beg and plead to his Maker for her return, only to be answered with the most bitter silence.  
—————

_Ella felt herself fading, her world dwindling as she could do nothing but stare at the bright sun that reminded her of his eyes. The beautiful and always glowing amber eyes. Eyes filled with passion, with love, with kindness. And as she passed from the mortal coil, she let her memories of him, his eyes, his voice, his love, carry her forward to the next great adventure._

**Author's Note:**

> The song, Last Goodbye by Kesha, really helped to set the tone for this work.


End file.
